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El Paso sheriff asks for charges in Tom Clements murder

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office has asked prosecutors to file charges against alleged co-conspirators in the 2013 murder of prisons chief Tom Clements, but the district attorney has said there was insufficient evidence, a spokesman said Tuesday.

The district attorney's office said this was "untrue," saying it had never received a written report from the sheriff's office.

"I'm not talking about an unrelated crime, but in the Tom Clements murder," Lt. Jeff Kramer said in an interview with The Denver Post. "There is a nexus to the Clements murder."

This undated photo released by the Colorado Department of Corrections shows paroled inmate Evan Spencer Ebel. (Colorado Department of Corrections)

Kramer declined to name those suspected in the March 19, 2013 murder of Clements or how many people were involved. Authorities have said parolee Evan Ebel shot Clements after killing Nathan Leon two days earlier.

"Evan Ebel was a soldier in the 211 Crew," Kramer said, referring to the white supremacist gang that Ebel had joined in prison. "It has been our belief from the beginning that Evan Ebel didn't do this alone. We thought others were involved."

On more than one occasion, sheriff's investigators met with members of District Attorney Dan May's office seeking charges against co-conspirators in the Clements case, Kramer said.

"During those conversations, the DA's Office stated they did not believe there was enough evidence to pursue charges," Kramer said in an e-mail. "The Sheriff's Office continues to work this case in collaboration with DOC in an effort to compile additional evidence."

Supported by her daughters Sara, left, and Rachel, Lisa Clements, the widow of Tom Clements, speaks at his public memorial at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, on Monday, March 25, 2013. (Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)

Kramer said investigators with the Department of Corrections also "felt there was enough evidence to make the arrest(s)."

He said the Clements investigation remains active.

"That is not going to stop us," he said. "The case is being handled with the utmost thoroughness. A lot of great progress has been made on this case. (Investigators) are giving it their absolute best effort."

The El Paso County district attorney said in a statement released Tuesday evening that the office had never been officially asked to file criminal charges in the Clements case.

The statement said that "written reports are always submitted when requesting the filing of charges."

Timeline

"The District Attorney's Office has repeatedly requested reports from the El Paso County Sheriff's Office in order that we may be advised of any progress made in their investigation," the statement continued.

"Again, no reports have ever been provided."

"The motivation behind the recent allegations made by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office remains a mystery," the statement concluded.

A key source previously told The Post that Benjamin Davis, the founder of the 211 Crew, protected Ebel after a rival prison gang targeted the gang soldier for violence at the Sterling Correctional Facility. That left Ebel with a debt authorities suspect he repaid by killing Clements.

El Paso County investigators filed search warrants last year after tying James Franklin Lohr, 47, the highest-ranking gang member not in prison at the time, and Thomas Guolee, 31, to Ebel through phone records. Investigators determined that Ebel had exchanged 23 calls in a 24-hour period, including the hours immediately before and after Clements' murder, the source said.

Soon, authorities arrested Lohr and Guolee on arrest warrants not directly linked to the Clements murder. Lohr is being held at Colorado State Penitentiary in Cañon City, the highest-security state prison in Colorado. Guolee is on parole, according to district records.

Kramer declined to specify the exact roles of the alleged co-conspirators in Clements' murder, whether in the planning stages or if they were at the scene when Clements was killed.

Sheriff Terry Maketa has been embroiled in controversy over allegations that he had affairs with subordinates he promoted. In a videotaped apology to employees Saturday, he admitted he had been involved in inappropriate behavior and that he hadn't been "candid" about that.

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office is the lead agency in the Clements murder investigation, and Kramer said the controversy has not affected that role.

"That work effort, despite the distraction, has gone forward and they do their job on a day-to-day basis," Kramer said. "This case has been run very consistently with other major investigations."

Response from the El Paso County District Attorney

While it is the policy of this office to decline to comment on open and pending investigations, it is imperative that we respond to recent comments made by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.

It is untrue that anyone from the El Paso County Sheriff's Office has asked this office to file criminal charges in the death of Tom Clements. Written reports are always submitted when requesting the filing of charges. The El Paso County Sheriff's Office has not presented any such reports to the District Attorney's Office.

From March 19, 2013, we have had a team of experienced prosecutors, including District Attorney Dan May, committed to this investigation. As a part of this commitment, the District Attorney's Office has repeatedly requested reports from the El Paso County Sheriff's Office in order that we may be advised of any progress made in their investigation. Again, no reports have ever been provided.

The motivation behind the recent allegations made by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office remains a mystery.

Investigators search the area surrounding the home of Tom Clements on March 20, 2013. (Steve Nehf, The Denver Post)

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